


Therapy?

by Amalfoy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27976239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amalfoy/pseuds/Amalfoy
Summary: After the war, Draco is struggling, and his mother keeps pushing him to see the new therapist at St. Mungos. One day he finally gave in but could he really trust the therapist?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Therapy?

"The doctor will see you now." 

Draco looked up at the healer; taking a deep breath in, he stood up and followed her through the doors. Walking down the long narrow hallway, they stopped at a door that read "Dr. Thomas."

"Right in here. The Doctor will be with you shortly." 

With a silent thankful nod, Draco stepped inside the room. 

Looking around the room, he noticed there was a black leather chair and a black leather couch in the middle of the room with a glass coffee table between them. A few kid activities and a few oddly shaped chairs in the corner of the room looked like they would be for children possibly? Draco had to admit the one that looked like a giant bouncy ball did look rather appealing. He managed to stop himself from going to sit on it. After all, he didn't want the Doctor to think he was crazy. What would he think coming in to see a 20 something-year-old wizard bouncing on a ball chair? Draco laughed at the image that appeared in his head.

Draco walked over to the big bay window and took in the view. He could see a park in the distance and a few kids playing quidditch on toy brooms. He felt a pang of sadness hit him, watching the happy children run around laughing, chasing each other with play quaffles. He missed being a carefree child. Draco was so lost in thought he didn't hear the Doctor come in. 

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy, I'm Dr. Thomas," Dean said, sticking out his hand.

Whipping around at the familiar voice, Draco stared at the Doctor. "No...this isn't happening," he thought.

"He-hello Dr. Thomas," Draco said, clearing his throat and shaking the man's hand. Dr. Thomas gestured towards the seats, "shall we?"

"So, Mr. Malfoy, what brings you in?"

"Please, you can just call me Draco." 

"Okay, if that's what you want. So Draco, what can I do for you?"

Draco stared at the Doctor, feeling like he couldn't trust him. Draco had been struggling since the war ended a few years back. He had been having the same nightmares over and over. He _thought_ he was ready to talk to someone about them, but now that it was time to tell someone, he wasn't sure. 

"Draco?" Dean asked, looking at the still and silent Draco. 

"What? Oh, sorry..." 

"It's okay. Tell me, does this happen a lot? You getting lost in your thoughts and disassociating? 

Draco looked him in the eyes, almost afraid to answer.

"Draco, I can tell that you're nervous about letting down your walls. I get that. Everyone has trouble opening up to others about what's going on in their lives. You can trust that I won't be telling anyone about this appointment or any other appointments in the future. I made an unbreakable vow when I took this job." 

Draco took in a shaky deep breath and let it out slowly. "I've been having nightmares."

"Nightmares? About what?"

"...The war...Voldemort...me as a...you know" Draco shut his eyes, saying the last one. If there was one thing he could change, it would have been him becoming a death eater. Sure he wanted to at the time because that's all he knew. He grew up listening to his parents and wanting to be just like his father, but as soon as that mark was on his arm, that's when reality hit him. He knew he messed up. 

He opened his eyes to see Dr. Thomas writing something down. Oh no, had he said all that out loud? What had he just done?

"What are you writing," Draco asked curiously. 

"Just writing notes on the session. Mainly what you are talking about," he said as Draco's mouth flew open like he was going to question him more." Don't worry," Dr. Thomas reassured. They are charmed, so only my eyes and your eyes can read what is on them."

Seeing a little bit of relief wash over Draco's face, he asked the next question. 

_____________________

It had been 6 months since Draco started talking to Dr. Thomas or, as he had started calling him lately, Dean. Draco hadn't had a nightmare in 4 months, and he saw that as a major success. He was finally sleeping more than 4 hours a night, and his parents were starting to see a huge change in their son. They had been worried about him since the war ended. 

After the war, Draco had spiraled, and Narcissa especially was worried about him. He had locked himself in his room and wouldn't come out for anything. She would walk by his room at night and hear him crying. When he did leave his room, she would ask him if he was alright, but he would just lie to her, saying he was _fine_ and not to _worry_.

One day she saw there was a therapy office opening at St Mungo's in the Daily Prophet. She mentioned it to Draco, but he just pushed it away, not wanting to talk about it.

"Draco, I really think you should talk to someone. You can't just shut yourself away," she pleaded. 

"I'm fine, mother...really," Draco said, retreating into his room, not wanting to hear any more on the topic. She had been at this all week, and it seemed she wasn't stopping until she got her way. 

The next day Draco woke up to find the paper slid under his door. Rolling his eyes at his mother's antics, he picked it up and read the article. _**T**_ _**herapy office to open at St. Mungo's**_. Did he really need therapy? Apparently, his mother had thought so.

_____________________

"Hello Draco"

"Hello Dean"

"How have things been since our last appointment?"

"Uh, I haven't had any new nightmares...but I uh-" Draco said nervously, scratching the back of his neck.  "My wife's...pregnant," he hesitated. That was the first time he had actually said it out loud. As much as he didn't want to admit it, It was happening.

"Congratulations," Dean offered.

Draco bit his lip, shaking his leg, lost in thought for what seemed like forever until he was finally snapped back to reality by a hand on his shoulder. 

"Huh? What?"

"I said Congratulations...Draco, what's bothering you? Is it the baby or..."

"Ye-yeah," he murmured on the verge of tears. He never wanted a child. Well, he did, but he swore to himself that he wouldn't have one. He didn't want to turn out like his father. He had thought long and hard about how many ways he could mess up the kid's life, and the baby wasn't supposed to be born yet for six more months. His wife had told him.  He would be a _great_ father, and that he had _changed_. Draco wanted to believe her, but he couldn't make himself. How could he, a former death eater make a great father? Hilarious. 

He reached up and wiped the tear from his face. He couldn't believe he was crying and in front of another human. 

Dean handed him a box of tissues. "Here" 

Draco looked up "thanks," grabbing the box and taking one out to wipe his tears. 

"Draco, I have known you for many years now, and I can tell you I have personally seen how much you have changed after the war and after marrying Astoria." 

Draco just stared at the floor, crumpling the tissue in his hands and playing with it trying to distract himself. 

"Look... speaking as your therapist, you have made a lot of progress since we started. It may not seem like much to you, but if you look back at the notes from our first session, you can really see the change. You are not the same person you were back in school. I think you will make an excellent father. If you want, I can prescribe a different potion for anxiety to see if that helps take the edge off a little. Would you like that?"

Draco could only muster a nod. He was too afraid of what his voice would sound like if he tried to talk. 

"Okay, I will send the prescription down to the lab, and you can pick it up on your way out. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

_________________________

"We named him Scorpius," Draco said, beaming as he showed dean a picture of the newborn. 

"That's a unique name. I like it." 

"It's a tradition on my mother's side. I rather like the tradition." He chuckled

"How are you feeling about being a father? I know it's only been a few weeks, but how are you dealing so far?"

"I'm a little tired, but other than that, I'm feeling great. I didn't know I could be so in love with something...don't tell my wife I said that." Draco smirked, causing Dean to laugh. "He just makes me so happy." He gushed

"That's great news, Draco," Dean said with a smile. "Anything you want to start the session with?"

_________________________

Draco and Scorpius sat in the lobby of St. Mungo's. Dean had asked Draco to bring Scorpius to this session but didn't let on why. It very well could be because Draco doesn't really talk about anything else anymore, and he is curious about how great this child must be. Draco smiled at that thought, looking down at his 6-year-old son, who was drawing on his sketchpad. Scorpius had taken to drawing lately, and he was rather good, Draco thought. 

"Malfoy?"

"Come on, Scorpius," Draco said, standing and holding out his hand for Scorpius to hold. It wasn't necessary, but it was just a habit. Scorpius took hold of it anyway, not minding the looks from the other witches and wizards. Draco had a fleeting thought of what they thought about why his son was there with him. None of the thoughts were good.

Reaching the door, the healer let them in. "Dr. Thomas will be right with you." 

"Thank you," Draco said to her as they went inside.

"Woah, dad, look!" Scorpius said, running to the corner with the kid's activities. 

"Would you draw me a picture of the view Scorpius?" 

"Okay!" He said as he got to work. About 5 minutes later, Dr. Thomas came in. 

"Hello, Draco."

"Hello," Draco replied. Scorpius's head shot up at the sound of a new voice he didn't recognize. 

"Ahh you must be Scorpius?"

"Yes, sir," he said with a huge grin.

"I've heard so much about you" Scorpius looked at his father still with a huge smile. Draco couldn't help but smile back at him. His smiles were infectious. 

During their meeting, Dr. Thomas asked Scorpius a few small questions, so he felt engaged in the conversation. Draco was starting to think that maybe Dean really did just want to see Scorpius in person. Did he really talk about his son that much? Draco found himself starting to get lost in his thoughts until-

"Dad?"

"What?" Draco said, snapping back to reality.

"I finished the picture." 

"Oh, this is amazing, Scorpius! We will have to frame it when we get home." 

Scorpius beamed at his father. Dr. Thomas sat, watching them interact, and found himself not able to hold back his smile. 

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about today, Draco?" He finally asked after the conversation ended between father and son. 

"I don't think so..." Draco thought back on the events of the past few weeks since his last appointment. "No, I think we covered everything." 

"Okay, great. I'll see you in 2 weeks, yeah?"

"Okay, see you then. Come on, Scorpius"

Right as the pair were about to leave, Dr. Thomas called,  "Oh, hey, Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"You really are doing a great job raising your son," he said with a smile.

With that, Draco gave a thankful smile and walked out of the building with his son before heading home. He would never have thought in a million years he would be where he was right now...and all it took was his mother nagging him about therapy and his little family to get him on the right track.


End file.
